Airmic has produced its long-awaited guide to the Insurance Act, which is being sent to all members and partner organisations. The key message to risk managers is that it is up to them to take control of the buying process. The guide urges corporate insurance buyers to start preparing for the Act now, instead of waiting until August when it comes into force or for their brokers and underwriters to give them the necessary advice.

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Bas Brouwers will join Rabobank on 1 January 2016 as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The regulators have given their approval for the appointment. From 1 January 2016 Wiebe Draijer, chairman of the Executive Board, will take on the role of Chief Risk Officer (CRO) ad interim. Bert Bruggink, whose tasks as Chief Financial and Risk Officer (CFRO) are to be split, will step down as CFRO on 31 December 2015. He will continue to work for Rabobank in an advisory capacity to the Executive Board.

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Luca Paolini

The Fed’s decision to raise interest rates for the first time in almost a decade does not in itself bring the curtain down on an era of ultra-loose monetary policy. Nor should it prevent stocks from moving higher over the coming months. Continue reading…

As of 1 January 2016, Wim Kuijken will be appointed as independent Chairman of the Board of The Hague Security Delta Foundation. He will succeed Jozias van Aartsen, Mayor of The Hague. This fits the new governance of HSD and the further establishment of HSD as national security cluster with three important regions: Brabant, Twente and The Hague. The appointment marks the next phase in the development of HSD.

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Intelligent Partnership have found that the Alternative Finance industry needs to do much more to reach out to advisers. Although 73% of the Alternative Finance providers IP surveyed stated that they were either already marketing to financial advisers, or planned to do so in the future, the vast majority of advisers were still unaware of key industry developments. Only 7% of advisers surveyed realised that Alternative Finance is now regulated by the FCA, and only 13% were aware that some platforms used contingency funds to protect investors from losses. Continue reading…

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently published its first consultation paper on the implementation of the new European Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) in the UK. MiFID was originally introduced in 2007 and the revised regime aims to strengthen investor protection, increase market resilience, reduce systemic risks and increase the overall efficiency and transparency of financial markets.
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Wealth managers and private banks have made progress in demonstrating the suitability of their clients’ portfolios, a thematic review by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found. However, some firms need to make substantial improvements in client information practices as well as ensuring the portfolios they manage truly reflect the needs and risk appetite of their customers. The FCA will be following up on these issues with these firms.
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Legislation that would entitle commercial policyholders to damages for the late payment of claims has passed a major legislative hurdle. The Enterprise Bill received its second reading in the House of Lords, despite some vocal opposition. Airmic CEO John Hurrell welcomed the measure’s progress, which followed an intervention by the specialist insurance consultancy Mactavish.

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Michel van Hulten

I respond to the call to help disseminate this message as widely as possible during the few days preceding the Climate Change Conference in Paris. Everyone should be aware of the fact that the threat to the global climate is also influenced by the success or failure of our fight against corruption. Powerful lobby groups are attempting to manipulate legislation, governments and international organisations for their own ends and are thus compromising safety and our welfare.

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The euro area financial system has been resilient through occasional bouts of financial market volatility in the second half of the year, according to the ECB’s latest Financial Stability Review. Continue reading…